Tag Archives: J.E. Dunn

Global colocation solutions provider CyrusOne recently put the last steel beam in place at its Chandler site —officially completing the framework for its 1 MSF “Massively Modular” Phoenix data center complex.

In celebration of the incident-free construction of the steel skeleton, ironworkers hosted a traditional “topping out” ceremony to recognize the quality performance.

Often associated with bridges and skyscrapers, modern-day steelworkers carry forward the topping-out tradition from more domestic roots in history to recognize the important role their skills play in the pinnacle of a structure first being reached.

The custom of placing a tree on a completed structure arrived stateside with early immigrants to America and celebrated barn-raisings and housewarmings. Carried over from European civilizations, the ceremony originally honored a tree spirit for the use of wood in homes or enlisted the blessing of the forest gods for fertile land and home.

The modern-day ceremony involves signing the final steel beam before it is hoisted in the air accompanied by a tree top. Signing the final beam for CyrusOne’s Phoenix data center complex were the local steelworkers, 250 CyrusOne employees and CyrusOne executives.

“It is a proud day for CyrusOne as we bring to life this very special facility. This is perhaps the largest and most innovative purpose-built multitenant datacenter, developed from the ground up, in a decade. This represents a significant step forward in realizing our vision of a CyrusOne western region hub for Fortune 1000 enterprise customers,” said Kevin Timmons, CTO, CyrusOne.

Planned for completion in December, the data center is expected to become the largest of its kind in the country with 110 megawatts of power capacity, delivered from a substation to be built on the property. A highlight of the Chandler topping out ceremony will be the unveiling of the V-shaped roof on the complex, which consists of high sides tapering to a channel down the middle to support the capture of rainwater to repurpose for water management.